When We Met
by Vazania
Summary: When they met, his girlfriend had ditched him to get married to another man and he was struggling under the weight of a huge company. When they met, she was just returning from college in the US along with a trip around Europe and was going to elope with her boyfriend. When they met, they had no idea where fate would take them. And it took them to them on a journey. AH, AU, Fax.
1. Enduring and Enjoying

**A/N: So this story has been really delayed. I finally got it up though! To make up for it, it ****isn't as short as I first thought I would have it be.**

**Anyways, all my knowledge of trains comes from my experiences in India and if I get anything wrong, I apologize.**

**Also, I tried to make this story as accurate as possible. All ticket, hotel and food rates are either completely accurate or close approximations. All places mention are mostly true, except for the locations of homes and offices. Company names are also ****fictional.**

**Disclaimer for the whole entire story because I always to forget to do one for every chapter: I don't own Maximum Ride and its characters.**

* * *

Nikolas Wayland stood outside the church, a slightly crumpled invitation in hand. Peopled filed past him, chatting eagerly, some ignoring his presence while others shot him wary glances. But he was oblivious to it all, all of his focus was on the banner that was plastered across the front of the church.

_**Lissa and Sam, Together Forever**_

Was this really all there was for him now? He wondered. Was this what years of dating, sweet words, and captured kisses amounted to? Standing outside a church while his girlfriend of three years married a man she met at a club 6 months ago? If so this was a cruel reality.

"Hey! You going to come in?" A stocky man of about 35 in a caterer's uniform yelled, snapping Nikolas out of his reverie. He stared blankly at the man, who now gave an exasperated sigh after realizing Nikolas didn't hear what he said.

"Are you going to come in or not?" The man asked, his impatience to get inside evident on his face. Nikolas shook his head in a quick 'no' and the caterer slammed the door on his face, muttering something about 'damn illiterate kids.' Well, then. Next time Nikolas had a business party, he knew for a fact that he would _not _have Clarence's Catering on the list of places to get food from.

He wandered back to his car. An imported silver Mustang, one of the many imported cars his father—no, he, owned. He unlocked the car and opened the door. But he paused, and made a decision. He closed the door. Fumbling around in his pockets, he grabbed his wallet, only removing his ID and a wad of cash (about £450), leaving the credit cards inside. He put it on the top of the car. He took of the non-prescription glasses he always wore, despite the fact that he didn't need them and placed it next to his wallet, along with his keys.

He knew what he was doing was stupid. No one knew where he was and he would most definitely get a lecture from his assistant manager, Nate, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything at the moment.

He walked away from the car, leaving his newly inherited company, his to-be married ex-girlfriend, and most of his common sense behind. But he didn't look back.

•••••

He wandered the streets, shedding his suit coat and loosening his tie. The sounds of London enveloped him. Car horns, motorcycles, yelling. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he didn't care, just wanting to get away from his life.

Soon, he found himself outside of the train station. It was a place familiar to his childhood. He'd always loved the hustle and bustle. The ability to just disappear into the crowds.

He stood in line for a train ticket, scanning the list of destinations for somewhere he would like to go. And then he found it.

"Ticket to Madrid." Nikolas said gruffly when the slightly elderly lady at the booth asked where he'd like to go.

She smiled at him, surprising him into smiling back, until the dark cloud of his mood quickly moved back to his mind.

"You'll be stopping in Paris to switch trains." She said, still smiling, despite the fact that he had dropped his. Nikolas nodded.

"That'll be £348. 77." Nickolas pulled out the money and gave it to her. After counting it, she gave him his change and his ticket and he walked to the platform, consumed in his thoughts.

* * *

Max Perez had never missed a train in her life. The skill was necessary, considering the fact that she had been traveling around her home continent ever since she graduated from Stanford in America. And now, she was going back to her wonderful family in Madrid, whom she had not seen in 2 years.

She sighed, and then, 2 days later, she'd have to runaway and elope with Dylan, for their parents would never allow them to get married if the knew. Max's parents especially disliked Dylan. But that wasn't going to stop her. After all, she was the stubbornness person she knew.

The train station was bustling with activity, people running around, trying to get to their trains before they departed, others getting off the trains. She loved how fast paced it all was, a stark contrast to airports, therefore fueling her loathing for them. But it was not the only reason she hated planes and airports, she thought bitterly. A robotic voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Train to London to Paris to Madrid will depart in 5 minutes. All passengers must board the train." Max hurried to her train, checking her ticket. It would be a three-hour ride to Paris and from there; she would switch trains and endure a twelve-hour ride to Madrid. And considering the fact that it was 5pm, she would reach Madrid by 9am. Which wasn't to her liking since she wasn't a morning person. But she would have to deal with it.

She quickly located her train and boarded, lugging her suitcase behind her.

"34B, 34B." She muttered looking for her seat. "Ah ha!' She said to herself. She put her luggage in the seat across from hers and waited by playing Angry Birds on her phone. Someone cleared their throat. Looking up, she saw a man wearing dress pants and a long-sleeved white shirt looking down at her.

"Yes?" She said. He gestured to her luggage.

"What about it?' She asked.

"Its in my seat." The man said, probably deciding that the whole silence thing wasn't working. His voice was smooth, but there was a slight roughness to it that her best friend Nudge would describe as sexy. Max mentally shook her head. He had spoken 4 words and she was already analyzing how his voice was sexy. Talk about rushing into things.

"Oh! Sorry." She said, removing her luggage. The man sat down, adjusting the tie that was loosely wrapped around his neck. He nodded and sat down, looking out the window morosely. Max studied him. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place his identity. But with his raven black hair and olive skin tone, it was obvious he was also Spanish, and perhaps from English descent, judging from his facial structure, not to mention handsome. But she had Dylan, so his handsomeness was of no matter to her.

He didn't look like one to talk or smile much and had the whole tall, dark and mysterious thing going on. And the fact that he had no luggage made her all the more curious. Now if only he could turn around, then maybe she could figure out where she saw him.

As if hearing her thoughts, he turned his head and smirked lightly, catching Max in the act of staring at him. She fought down the blush that threatened to creep up her face and instead stuck out her hand.

"I'm Maximum Perez, call me Max." She said, smiling lightly. The man shook her hand, pausing for a moment before he said his name, as if he had forgotten.

"Fang Wayland." He said simply, having lost the smirk, and Max cocked an eyebrow at both the familiarity of the last name and because of the name itself.

"What kind of name is Fang?" She asked.

"What kind of name is Maximum?" He countered. The smirk was back.

"Touché" Max grinned, while Fang on the other hand gave a crooked half-smile, which Max assumed to be his version of a grin.

Maybe she would _enjoy_ rather than _endure _the ride to Madrid.

* * *

**A/N: Hm, it seems my stories usually start with unwanted weddings. XD Hoped you liked the start of this story as much as I did.**

**-Vaz**


	2. Not Completely Screwed

Nikolas didn't know why he told her his childhood nickname instead of his real name. Perhaps it was because he truly did want to leave his life behind for the next few weeks he would spend in Madrid or perhaps it was the fact that he didn't want Max to look at him differently, whatever it was, it was slightly comforting to know that the name Fang was not just an old nickname anymore. It was a new chapter of his life.

He and Max bantered and conversed about meaningless things during the whole train ride. She was comfortable to talk to, even more so than Lissa, whom he had believed was his soul mate. It was an easy 3 hours, and it passed by quickly with no disruptions. He was in a better mood, and felt lighter, as if the weight of the life he had left for a while wasn't pressuring him as much.

But that peace soon ceased to exist when they reached Paris.

•••••

An hour later, Fang and Max dashed through the train station together, looking for the train that would take them to Madrid. They had spent a little bit _too _much time in a coffee shop and were now on the brink of missing their train.

"Over there." Max exclaimed, pointing to a train not too faraway from them. Fang looked in the direction she was pointing and found that that train was, indeed the one they were supposed to take to Madrid. They rushed towards it just as the 5-minute warning came over the intercom, determined to get to the train before it left. But alas, fate had other plans for them as plump woman rammed into Max's suitcase at full speed, not even stopping to apologize. As if in slow motion, the small suitcase flew threw the air and landed with a thump, its contents spilling out for all to see.

"Shit." Fang swore as Max pushed through the crowds to get to her suitcase. He pushed after her to help, and they both dropped to their knees and began shoving the spilt clothing into the bag. Fang knew full and well that they would most probably miss the train but he focused on helping Max get all her clothes of the train station's concrete ground.

When they finally finished, they both looked up in horror to find their train pulling away from the station and with a quick glance at each other, shot towards it yelling.

"Stop!" Max yelled, waving her sweater in the air like a madwoman. But no avail, the train left the station, leaving Fang and Max bent over, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry." Max said, panting as she collapsed into a near by bench. Fang quirked his eyebrow and sat down next to her. Why was _she_ sorry?

She continued, "I made you miss your train." Oh, so that was it.

Fang shook his head. "You didn't make me miss my train, the fat lady and my gentlemanly qualities did." He smirked.

Max laughed, "What gentlemanly qualities?" She asked sarcastically.

Fang gave her a crooked half-smile. She always seemed to find a way to refute his claims, a refreshing change from the giggles he usually got from other girls.

But his smile disappeared when he realized the issue at hand. "What do we do now?" He asked Max, he didn't have enough money for another ticket.

"What do you mean?" Max asked, confused.

Fang shook his head, slightly exasperated at her obliviousness. "We missed the train, and I'm completely broke, although I don't know about you."

"Oh." She said, ever so eloquently. She paused. "Who said I was coming with _you_?"

Fang gave her a pointed look. She held her hands up. "Okay, okay. Why don't we camp out at a motel or something for the night and I'll buy us new tickets tomorrow morning?"

"I couldn't make you do that." He said.

"I made you miss the train. I owe you."

"No you don't"  
"Yes I do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes." Fang swore as Max grinned at him victoriously.

"Now that we've got that settled, lets go." Max said, smiling as Fang glared at her in vain. Realizing that it didn't affect her, he sighed and got up from the bench. Max reached down to grab her suitcase, only to find, air? She looked around frantically.

"Where's my suitcase?" Max asked, panicking.

Fang groaned internally. It was just a bunch of clothes; she could buy new ones. Unless… "Shit. Please tell me that there was only clothes in there."

"My money was in there!" Max exclaimed. "Now I don't have any bloody money. Fuck."

"Agreed." Fang said. Max slumped down on the bench. He sat down and awkwardly rubbed her shoulder.

"I could use the rest of my money to buy a cheap motel room and I guess we could hitchhike the rest of the way to Madrid."  
Max shrugged, dejected. "What choice do we have? We're broke."

Fang nodded. "Do you know French?" He asked her.

"Yeah. Took it in high school. Do you?"

"Yeah, so I guess we aren't completely screwed."

And on that happy note, they trudged out the station.

•••••

Max felt horrible. If it weren't for her and her stupid suitcase, she and Fang would safely be on a train to Madrid, instead of walking around at 10 pm, looking for an affordable motel.

"What about here?" Max asked. "Motel de Crillon."

"Doubt it's as good as the real thing." Fang muttered but said. "Eh, sure."

Max was slightly confused by the before comment but thought nothing of it as she marched into the motel, Fang trailing after her.

"Puis-je obtenir une chambre avec deux lits?" _Can I get a room with two beds?_ She asked the girl at the front desk, silently thanking the fact that she took 3 years of French in high school. Fang stood behind her, listening to the conversation.

"Je suis désolé, nous ne disposons que d'une chambre avec un lit. il en coûte 39.96 £ par nuit." _I'm sorry, but we only have a room with one bed. It costs £ 39.96 per night._

Max turned to Fang. "Is that okay?"

"Sure." He said. "I'll just take the floor."  
Max turned back to the desk girl. "Nous allons prendre." _We'll take it._

"39.96 £" The girl said.

Max turned to Fang, who was digging around in his pockets. He removed a 50-pound note from the considerably small wad and gave it to Max, who handed it to the girl.

"Maintenir le changement" _Keep the change. _Max said, despite the look Fang gave her.

"Merveilleux, voici votre clé" _Wonderful, here is your key. _The girl slid the key across the counter, along with a grateful smile.

"Merci." _Thank you. _Max took the key and beckoned Fang to follow her. They walked down the halls of the motel in silence, both of them exhausted.

Max unlocked the door to their room. Her mouth opened in slight horror. "You are _not _sleeping on _that._" She said, pointing to the floor in disgust. It was covered in stains and looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in years.

"Then where should I sleep?" Fang yawned.

"I guess you could sleep on the bed with me. I trust you not to jump me."

"I feel honored." Fang took off his shirt and collapsed onto the bed. His six-pack normally would have fazed her but she too was to exhaust to register it. She took off her shoes and collapsed next to him on the bed.

"G'night." She said.

"G'night."

The lights clicked off and the peaceful sound of their breathing filled the room.


	3. The Story of Nikolas Wayland

Max woke up with a start, sweating. Next to her, Fang stirred in his sleep, oblivious as the dream replayed in her head like a broken record. Tonight was no different from any other night.

No matter what, the memories of that day always haunted her.

The second time she woke up, Fang was banging around in their room's bathroom.

"Holy shit!" There was a thud and a very irritated looking Fang stumbled out.

Max stifled a laugh at his sorry state. His entire top half was drenched, a look that was completed by his hair, which was sticking up in all directions. _Very _fashionable, she thought.

"What happened?" She smiled a little.

Fang glared at her, "The bathroom sink hates me." He pouted childishly.

It began as a chuckle, then it was a laugh, and soon it became full blow hysterics. She didn't know why she was laughing so hard. It wasn't even that funny, the whole ordeal was more on the amusing side. But there was something about a full grown man pouting that was just so damn hilarious that she found herself rolling around on the bed, clutching her sides as her laughter, which was soon joined by Fang's chuckles, filled the room.

As their laughter began to cease, Max looked at Fang more closely, seeing the ever-present sadness in his eyes return. It was always there, even when they were laughing and bantering, though sometimes more obvious than others. Like now, as silence overtook the room and Fang withdrew into his thoughts. The sadness always lingered in his dark eyes.

Breaking the stillness of the room, Max hopped off the bed.

"I'm going to go freshen up." Fang nodded absently.

Slipping into the bathroom, Max realized that she hadn't informed her family of the delay. She shrugged mentally. Since when had she been punctual to a family gathering? And besides, having Dylan wait a few days before they eloped wouldn't hurt, she thought, as she turned on the faucet absently. She was met with a jet of freezing cold water to the face.

"Bloody!"

After drying off and checking out of the hotel, Max and Fang walked in a comfortable silence around the outskirts of Paris. That is, until Max's stomach began to growl. She looked at Fang sheepishly.

"Can we get some food?"

Fang shrugged and handed her £10.

"£10?" Max asked, incredulous.

"We should save the rest. Just in case." Fang said.

Max couldn't argue with his logic, so she instead settled on giving an exasperated huff and looking around for something to eat.

"Beignets!" She exclaimed, seeing that a vendor was selling them 5 for £1. "Lets get beignets!" Fang shrugged, and Max noted that he was less talkative than usual. But she shrugged it off, dismissing it as exhaustion.

She ran over to the vendor. "Puis-je obtenir 15?" _Can I get 15? _She asked in French.

"Bien sûr." _Of course._ The vendor handed her the beignets in a paper cone, and took her money, giving £7 in change. She pranced back to Fang, munching happily. Fang snatched one and popped it in his mouth, ignoring Max's glare.

"So, bus?" Fang asked Max as they walked.

"Huh?"

"Are we going to take a bus?"

"Why don't we get a car instead? It'll save us money."

He shrugged again, and then looked around.

"Wait." He said, stopping. "I know this place."

Max looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"My friend lives around here. Jay. I bet he'd let us borrow his car."

"Lead the way captain." Max said, sweeping her arms out in front of her. Fang shook his head but headed down the street.

"His home should be here somewhere." He stopped in front of a mediocre looking house and smiled to himself, walking towards the door. Max looked at him questioningly. Here? She asked with her eyes. He nodded and motioned for her to follow. Max shrugged and ran after him.

Fang rang the doorbell. After a few seconds, a young man of about Fang's age answered the door. His blonde hair was a mess but he otherwise was wearing a clean shirt and jeans, surprising Max, whom, having two brothers knew how messy young men could be.

"Nikolas?" The man asked, his green eyes twinkling. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

Fang rolled his eyes, obviously used to this. "Cut the crap Jay."

"Your no fun." He pouted and then saw Max, who was standing a-ways off from them. A mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Oh, you came here for your blessings! You didn't tell me you got married!"

Max stepped up, glaring.

"We're not married. Now I don't know who you are, besides the fact that you're his friend," She jabbed a finger towards Fang, "or why in the world you called Fang Nikolas, but could you please let us in?"

"Fang eh? You went back to that nickname, I see." Jay grinned at Fang and opened the door. "Come in. What can I do for you?"

"We need your car." Jay froze.

"What?"

"We need to get to Madrid." Max said.

Jay shook his head. "No way, neither of you is touching my car. Nobody drives Jay Viejas's car besides Jay Viejas."

"Please?" Max asked, pouting.

Jay shook his head. "No way."

Max sighed. "Well we tried." She said. "Can you get us some water, I'm parched."

"I doubt his talents extend to getting water." Fang muttered. Jay glared at him and stalked out of the room.

* * *

"So…?"

Max shrugged. "You should be happy I'm not interrogating you about that whole Nikolas thing yet. I hate it when people lie to m-."

She stopped and a slow smile spread across her face as she looked over Fang's shoulder. Confused, Fang followed her gaze. And there it was, in all its glory, a set of shining keys. Car keys. Fang's eyes widened very slightly as she looked at Max, understanding the full extent of her expression.

"You want to steal it?" He hissed.

"Not steal, more like borrow. And maybe not return." She smirked, "Why, are you scared Mr. Wayland?"

Fang glared at her jab at his ego. "Fine." He snatched the keys off the countertop and stuffed it into his pocket, just as Jay walked in with one glass of water.

"Here is your water, Mademoiselle." He said bowing. Max rolled her eyes as she took the glass.

Jay turned to Fang. "And, Mr. _Fang. _You can die of dehydration for all I care." Jay glared at him, acting like he was hurt. Fang ignored him. Jay grinned. There was silence.

The sound of Brittney's 'Threesome' cut through the slightly awkward air, making it more awkward. Jay rummaged through his pockets, and came up with his phone, triumphant. He picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

"Its Natasha." He whispered, as if Max and Fang knew who Natasha was. He skipped out to the backyard to talk on the phone. Fang sighed. Jay would never change, he thought to himself.

"He's exactly like Iggy." Max muttered. Fang shot her a look but she shook her head.

"So, let's find the garage." She said and walked down the main hallway. There was an unspoken agreement as Fang opened the doors on the left and Max opened the doors on the right.

"Find it?" Fang asked, finishing the doors on his side. Max shook her head and yanked open the last door.

"Bingo." She said. She pushed the door open wider. In front of them stood a red imported Scion tC.

"Sweet!" Max said, sliding into the passenger seat of the car. Fang opened the garage door and got into the drivers. He turned on the ignition and the engine came to life.

"What the—" Having heard the noise, Jay had come running to the garage. "How—"

"Thanks for the car! We'll get it back to you. Hopefully!" Max yelled out the window as Fang backed out and onto the street. Jay stood dumbfounded in the garage. By the time he'd gathered his wits, they were already gone.

They had been driving for about 20 minutes when Max spoke.

"Why'd Jay call you Nikolas?" Max asked. Fang glanced at her, silent. There was no need for an answer, and he knew that.

"Your Marcus Wayland's son, aren't you?" She asked hotly, answering her own question.

Fang sighed, "Yes. I am."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He didn't answer.

"Fine, don't tell me. Just like you didn't tell me who you were." She turned towards the window, arms crossed. No words were spoken for a few moments.

"I was a coward." Fang said. Max's head snapped towards him. He continued on.

"After dad died last year, I didn't want the company. I tried to pretend it didn't exist. That I didn't have to worry about it. My best friend Nate soon knocked some sense into me, making me realize that the company had fallen into shambles without me at the head. I took responsibility for the company. Brought it up, created new innovations. My friends and my girlfriend Lissa supported me through it all. For 6 months it was great. Lissa and I were planning on getting married; I'd accepted my responsibilities and faced my demons. And then it all fell apart."

"The recession hit my company. _Hard. _We laid-off a lot of employees, stocks fell, people stopped buying. The vice-chairman quit, having gotten a better job offer. On top of this Lissa met a man, Samuel Edwards at a club. A 2 months later, she broke off our engagement and told me that Sam was the one for her. She left me broken as everything around me fell apart. And then a week ago, I got an invitation to her wedding."

"I went. Stupidly, I ignored my head and went to her wedding. I think it was only then that it registered. That everything I had worked for in the past year and my relationship with Lissa for the past 3 years had all been destroyed. So I ran away from my problems. Took a wad of cash and bought a ticket to Madrid, the place where my mother grew up in, and later eloped to with my dad's best friend."

"And then I met you. I told you my name was Fang, a childhood nickname, in the hopes that you wouldn't figure out who I really was. And now we're here, with me running from my problems."

Max stared at him, "That took a lot of guts." She said.

"What do you mean?" Fang asked her.

"Admitting you were a coward. That took a lot of guts."

"Not _were_, am."

"No, I think your pretty brave Fangles. You've redeemed yourself. And not to mention, that feat of speech was amazing. I'm surprised you haven't dropped dead from the exertion."

Fang rolled his eyes. "Only _you _would think that." But he was secretly grateful; her words filled a hole of uncertainty that had been there the whole trip.


End file.
